Electric lighting.



P. c. HEWITT.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING. APPLIUATION I'IL ED APR. 5, 1900. RENEWED APR. 15, 1908.

Patented Oct. 13,1908.

Fig.1

Inventor Winesses;

complished in various ways. 'the nitrogen may be included in., a.lamp

UNI ED STATES PATENT OEFIOE.

PETER COOPER HEWITT, or NEW YORK, N. Y., AssioNoR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, To

cOOrER HEWITT ELEoTRIoooMrANY, A OORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.-

ELECTRIC LIGHTING.

Patented Oct. 13, 1908.

Application 1163, April 5,1000, Serial Na 11,608. Renewed April 15, 1908. Serial No. 427,297.

To all whom it may concern; I

Be it known that 1, PETER COOPER HEW- m, a citizen of the United States,..and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Lighting, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in electric lighting apparatus in which electric energy is employed for producing light through the agency of vapors and gases.

In another ap hcation filed by 'me April 5, 1900 Serial Number 1 1,605, I have described a form of vapor or gas electric lamp in which a good conducting path is formed for currents of moderate potential and which is capable of regulating within itself the current flowing, so that it is suited for'general use upon commercial circuits. One of the materials sometimes employed for the light-omitting medium in the lamp referred to is mercury vapor. The spectrum of mercury is deficient My resent invention aims to combine with 9. amp having a vapor or gas yielding aspectrum lacking certain rays, another lamp which will produce the rays not produced by the first;

For convenience of description,'it will be assumed that a lamp is employed in which the main portion of the light'is produced by mercury vapors and that it is desired to supplement it with a spectrum having a sulficient abundance of red rays. I accomplish this result by combining or associating with.

the mercury vapor, a vapor or gas such, for instance, as nitrogen, helium or argon which also is to be acted upon by the electric current so as to produce, red rays in addition to such other rays as are contained in its spectrum, thereby supplying the deficiency of the mercury spectrum. This may be ac. For instance,

structure similar to that employing the mercury and located in such proximity thereto as to produce the desired resultant effect. Another way of accomplishing the desired result is to combine with such a lamp as the mercury va or lamp an Ordinary form of incandescent am connected in series or parallel therewith ut so located as to have, its rays mingle with those of the mercury lamp.

I desireto have it understood, however, that with any form of vapor lamp, such as referred to in my application Serial Number 11,605, a supplemental light-emitting body, yielding the desired additional rays.

In this application specific claims are not made to the combinatlpn of a vapor lamp with the ordinary form of incandescent lamp as that forms the subject of another application.

I In the accom anying drawings; Figure 1, illustrates one ibrm of my invention; Figs. 2, 3 and 4, illustrate modifications.

Referring to Fi 1, a tube 1, is shown as containing two e ectrodes, 2 and 5. The electrode 2, is here shown as consisting of a solid body which is conducting under proper conditions and contained within an enlar celectrode 5, conslsts in this instance of a body of mercury. Leading-in wires 7 and 8, respectively, connect with the two electrodes through the walls of the glass. Adj acent to or in proper relation with the tube 1, there is a second tube 11 likewise provided with electrodes 12 and 15. The electrode 12, may be similar to the electrode 2, and sustrode 15, consists. of any suitable conducting substance connected with a leading-in wire 18, which 'may be protected by a porcelain sleeve 10, or in some other suitable way. Within the tube 11, is contained aquantity of vapor or gas, such, for instance, as nitrogen capable of yielding under the proper conditions a spectrum including a quantity of red rays.

To render the lamps suitable for general use upon commercial circuits; it is desirable that they should receive currents under the influence of moderate electro-motive forces and ossess within themselves the capacity of se f-regulation with respect to the amount of current received. I have found that lamps may be made which will conduct current, at low potentials and within requisite limits proportional to the electro-motive force applied in such manner as to be selfregulating'and highly eflicient. The general plan of manufacture is to thorou hly cleanse the tubes or receptacles by emitting substance but generally combining ment 4, at the upper end of the tube. T hc alkalies and pended by a leading-in wire 17. The eleO- are not made upon the method of constructing the lamps and, therefore, it will not be necessary to enter more in detail into the -method of construction and manufacture.

The lamp containing mercury emits anintense white light and is highly efficient. The lamp containing nitrogen, for instance, yields red rays; other substances also yield red rays, for instance potassium, lithium, hydrogen, etc. The two lamps may be placed upon the same circuit and either in series or parallel, as may be desired under given conditions, and by being roperly lo cated with reference to each ot er, the resultant effect is a brilliant light containing all of the desired rays.

Instead of lacing the lamps as shown in Fig. 1, the tu es may be curved as shown in Fig. 2, one being placed within the arc of the other. The chamber 4, shown in Fig. 1, is not always required but is frequently desirable, particularly in connection with lamps using mercury as a cooling and impurity containing chamber. In Fig. 2, I have shown this chamber 4, as being located at the top of the bend of the tube 1. It is usually desirable that it should be out of the vapor path.

In Fig. 3, I have shown a modification in which the form of mercury tube shown in Fig. 2 is employed, whereas, tube 1 1, is re laced by an incandescent electric lamp 1 1 '0 the ordinary type which is capable of yielding red and other rays. These two lamps are shown as being connected in series but they may be connected in parallel if desired. In the operation of this class of vapor lamps, it is sometimes desirable that a steadying resistance be connected in series with the vapor lamps and in such instances the incandescent lamp connected as in Fig. 3, well serves this a purpose.

For the purpose of starting lamps of this character it is usually desirable to employ an initial higher potential for producing within the lamp such a condition on the part of the vapor .as will cause it to receive currents of the potential with which it is designed to be operated. To accomplish this any convenient arrangement of circuits may be employed and in Fig. 4, I have illustrated one organization of such circuits in connection with a different arrangement of lamps. In

this instance the lamp 11, is in the form of a spiral surrounding the lamp 1. These lamps are connected across the main circuit conductors 24, 25, by conductors 20, 21. In the conductor 20, there is included the coil 22, of a suitable spark-coil or reactive device, the core of which is represented at 23. A conductor 26, including a switch 27, leads from one, terminal of the coil 22, to the main conductor 25, the arrangement being such that the coil 22, may be placed in closed shunt across the circuit 24, 25. A suitable condenser 28, of any desired form is connected in shunt around the switch 27. When the switch is closed an electric current is passed through the coil 22, and upon breaking the conductor 26, a high difference of ot ntial is established at the terminals of tie lamp, and the result of this is to create such a condition on the part of the vapor columns as to cause the current from the conductors 24 and 25, to flow easily through the lamp and operate it. A separate=starting device may be provided for each lamp if desired. The two lamps may be connected in series if desired.

It is frequently desirable to relieve the lamps from static charge during the application of the starting current by means of a conducting band surrounding the lam near one electrode and connected by a con uctor with the leading-in wire at the other terminal of the lamp. I have found that by placing a conductor such, for instance, as a band 9, of foil or other suitable material, near the electrode 5, and connecting it by a conductor 13, with the leading-in wire 7, the starting currents are more effective. Where two se )arate lamp structures are employed, a siml ar device will be used with each lamp.

As the starting device is liable to o crate upon only one lamp at a time it may e desirable to use some such arrangement of circuits as indicated in Fig. 4, in which a switch 30, is introduced into the conductor 20. This switch may be connected with either of two contact points 31 and 32, connected res ectively with the two lamps 1 and 11.

en in contact with the point 31, the starting device is applied to the lamp 1, and when that lamp has been started a switch 33, may close its connections through a conductor 35, including a resistance 34 to the main line 24. By moving the switch 30, into contact with a oint 32, the line 20, is connected with the amp 11, which may then be started. A switch 36, may be used to place the lamp 11, in connection with the conductor 35.

In a divisional application, Serial Number 105,723, filed by me May 3, 1902, claims are made upon certain of the features described herein. In another divisional application filed January 18, 1908, Serial Number 41 1,384 claims are made upon other features of the system described herein.

V lamp, consisting of a chamber containing a the vapor devices successively vapor of comparatively low electric reslstance and adapted to. pass an electric current of definite voltage and be made luminous thereby to produce light, said vapor or gas yielding a spectrum deficient in certain rays, of a similar amp having a vapor or gas ath yielding a spectrum contain ng ra s o the character in which the spectrum 0 the first named lamp is deficient, one of saidelamps partially surroundingthe other, whereby a resulting light"contamingthe rays 0fboth SPGOtIit'lS produced.

2. The combination with a plurality of vapor electrical devices, each 'reqpirin .a starting current of higher potential t an t at upon which it is to be 0 erated, of a reactance device, and means' or im 'ressing upon iiigh potential currents derived from the reactance device.

3. The. combination with a plurality of -vapor electrical devices, each requiring a startinglcurrent of higher potential than that upon w ich it isto be operated, of a common reactance device, and means for im ressing upon the vapor devices successivey high potential currents derived from the reactance device.

4. The combination with a plurality of vapor electrical devices, each re uirin a starting current of higher potential t an t at .upon which it is'to be operated, of a reactance device, means for -impressing upon the vapor devices successively high potential currents derived from the reactance device, and means whereby the reactance device can be cut-out of the circuit of one or all of the va or devices.

igned at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this twentythird day of March A. D. 1900.

PETER COOPER HEWITT. Witnesses:

WM. H. CAPEL, CHARLES B. HILL. 

